The Gloomy Cave

Chapter 11: Gloomy Cave

Emperor's Tomb Village.

With a flash of crimson light, Qi Sheng appeared before the underground crystal wall, the Containment Wall.

Gazing at the Bone Fire life soul imprisoned in the fourth containment cell, information automatically surfaced in his mind:

[Ink Flame]:

Primordial Ability Effect: Consume mental energy to release death flames controllable by consciousness, dealing continuous burning damage to the target (specific damage is affected by one's own mental strength).

Produces Sacrificial Power: 10/hour.

Raising his right hand, a ball of ink-black flame materialized in Qi Sheng's palm.

After containing the Bone Fire, the lost Di Zhao power had reclaimed the fourth puzzle piece, increasing his strength and granting him the ability to control the Ink Flame.

Another piece of good news was that the players had discovered a lost Domain Node.

If this domain could be reclaimed, the area of Emperor's Tomb Village would expand, and he would gain a new domain ability.

Just then, the latest feedback from the Guider appeared in Qi Sheng's mind:

[Hint: Acquired sacrificial item "Valley Grass", gained 155.7 Sacrificial Power, drew 30% of Sacrificial Power revenue, paid challenger 109 Sacrificial Power.]

"Not bad."

As the words fell, crimson flames spread from his brow to his entire body.

Switching to the Di Zhao form, his vision pierced through spatial barriers, looking towards the group of players exploring the cave.

Gloomy Cave.

Entering through a narrow opening, the interior was a world apart.

The deeper they went, the larger the space became, with multiple forks in the path ahead.

During their exploration, the Toddler Squad players stumbled upon a rock face embedded with numerous crystals emitting a faint purple glow.

Focusing their gaze, analysis information from the Guider surfaced in their minds:

[Name: Energy Stone]:

Spirit Ore Grade: 1

Description: A low-grade spirit ore containing rich essence energy, usable for sacrifices, vehicle crafting, and other consumables.

Black Ball: Hahaha, this place is great, found spiritual resources again.

Cute Kid: Let's get to it, it's time to mine resources.

Drunk Milk: The problem is, how do we mine?

As they prepared to work on the crystal-embedded rock face, they encountered a problem.

The rock face was hard, and digging out the Energy Stones wouldn't be easy. They had no tools on hand.

[The Mall section of the Function Panel has mining equipment that can be purchased with Sacrificial Power.]

Heeding the Guider's prompt, the Toddler Squad players summoned their function panels. After entering "mining equipment" into the search bar on the mall page, three items appeared.

[Pickaxe (Durability 100)], [Crystal Breaker Pickaxe (Durability: 2000)], [Gravity Pickaxe (Infinite)].

The prices for these three items were 1 Sacrificial Power, 100 Sacrificial Power, and 1000 Sacrificial Power respectively.

Along the way, they had killed quite a few Cursed Soldiers, but each Cursed Soldier only provided 3-6 Sacrificial Power. They couldn't afford the second-tier Pickaxe at all and could only choose the most basic 1 Sacrificial Power Pickaxe.

Upon successful purchase, a pitch-black Pickaxe automatically appeared in their spatial inventory slots.

Just as the players were about to start, they saw Iron Hammer, who was at the front, take out an unusual Pickaxe from his spatial inventory.

This Pickaxe was crystal blue all over. When taken out, it seemed like a star falling to earth. A faint blue light shone dazzlingly in the dim light of the mine. Every pattern and trajectory on its surface seemed to flow with crystalline brilliance.

The head of the Pickaxe was carved into the shape of a sharp eagle's beak. Iron Hammer gripped it and tried a swing, leaving a trail of light.

Realizing that Iron Hammer had used the 109 Sacrificial Power he obtained from the recent sacrifice to purchase the second-tier Pickaxe, everyone gave him a middle finger.

Iron Hammer: Old rules, even though I bought the second-tier Pickaxe, we'll tally the crystals mined and split them equally. I won't hog the profits.

Hearing this, the other players nodded in satisfaction.

Then, the group began to work on the Crystal Wall. After some knocking and chipping, they soon realized something was wrong.

Black Ball: Damn, this Pickaxe is jarring my hand when I hit the Crystal Wall. The feedback is too realistic.

Marble: It's good enough that we have resources to get, don't complain. Let's hurry up. This is the early stage of the game's launch. Getting resources to improve our strength will significantly help our future development.

Drunk Milk: You guys are so dumb. Without attribute bonuses in your main body form, it's much easier to mine in monster form.

As he spoke, Drunk Milk immediately switched to his Black Armor Snake form, picked up the Pickaxe with his mouth, and repeatedly slammed his head against the rock face.

After a series of "clang clang" blows, Drunk Milk suddenly stopped. He slowly turned his head to look at his stunned companions beside him, spat out the Pickaxe from his mouth, and said with a wronged expression:

"Dizzy, I feel like throwing up."

Hearing this, everyone couldn't help but burst into laughter, mocking Drunk Milk's foolish behavior.

But when everyone's gaze fell upon Iron Hammer, the laughter died on their lips.

The "Crystal Breaker Pickaxe" in Iron Hammer's hand easily bored into the rock face as if it were tofu. In just a few swings, he could pry out a piece of ore, and two "Energy Stone" were already piled at his feet.

Seeing everyone stop, Iron Hammer paused his actions, turned to look at them, and a shy smile appeared on his face:

"Are your hands numb? I think I'm fine."

The response was a unified show of middle fingers from everyone.

After the brief interlude, they resumed their work. During this time, the members of the Toddler Squad tested the gains from sacrificing "Energy Stone", discovering that each stone could yield 5-15 points of "Sacrificial Power".

Compared to killing "Cursed Soldiers", mining "Energy Stone" yielded higher "Sacrificial Power", although it didn't grant evolution points (experience).

Just as they were energetically hacking away at the "Crystal Wall", a dull thud suddenly echoed from the darkness.

Everyone immediately stopped and looked towards the darkness.

"Marble, activate perception."

"Okay!"

Marble, who had chosen the "Eagle Head Demon" form, immediately activated the Eagle Head Demon's Wailing ability.

This ability was like an instinct imprinted in their minds, requiring no practice. The process of using it was as simple as breathing.

Opening his mouth, Marble let out a melodious cry that transformed into sound waves radiating outwards.

The scene within a radius of tens of meters appeared as undulating images in his mind. He could now see the figure in the darkness.

It was a creature resembling a snail, its body covered in a layer of white shell. Tentacles extended from the shell, their tips glowing with a faint blue light, like the phosphorescence drifting in the deep sea.

[Iron Shell Bug]

Hunting Level: 8

Target Description: A low-level monster living underground, possessing a hard shell and highly flexible tentacles, feeding on spiritual ores found beneath the earth.

After sharing the information in his mind to the team channel, everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

The sudden noise in the dim environment had startled them, but finding out it was just a Level 8 monster, they no longer panicked. They all turned to switch to their monster forms, intending to take care of this monster before continuing to mine.

"Something's wrong, there are more Iron Shell Bug behind!"

In Marble's perception, more and more Iron Shell Bug figures entered his view.

Just then, the Iron Shell Bug scattered to the sides, and a two-meter-tall, pitch-black figure emerged from the darkness, exposed to the torchlight.

This figure had a humanoid form, with well-defined, sculpted muscles. Its skin was a grayish-blue, and its arms were covered in fine scales, with sharp claw blades between its fingers.

[Dungeon Clan]:

Hunting Level: 19

Target Description: A racial faction inhabiting underground spaces, skilled at controlling underground creatures in combat. Possesses Level 2 intelligence, controlled by a certain power, having lost its free will.

The Dungeon Clan lifeform looked up at them. As its gaze met the players', its pupils suddenly contracted into vertical slits.

Instantly, all the Iron Shell Bug raised their bodies, their tentacles waving as they shot towards the players.

"Let's go!"

The Toddler Squad members also switched to their monster forms at this moment, charging towards the Dungeon Clan lifeform without hesitation.

As players, the word "coward" was not in their vocabulary.

(End of Chapter)